Verification of authorized shared access operation

ABSTRACT

A method of wireless communication is presented. The method includes receiving, at a user equipment (UE) operating on an authorized shared access (ASA) spectrum, an inter-frequency measurement report from a wireless device operating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that is different from the ASA spectrum. The method also includes receiving, at the UE from a network controller, a transmission adjustment request based at least in part on the measurement report. The method further includes adjusting, at the UE, a transmission based on the transmission adjustment request and/or the measurement report.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/448,806, entitled “VERIFICATION OF AUTHORIZED SHARED ACCESSOPERATION,” filed on Jul. 31, 2014, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/862,364,entitled “VERIFICATION OF AUTHORIZED SHARED ACCESS OPERATION,” filed onAug. 5, 2013, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

FIELD

This application is directed generally to wireless communicationssystems. More particularly, but not exclusively, the application relatesto systems and apparatus for verification of authorized shared accessoperation.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, data, video, and the like,and deployments are likely to increase with introduction of new dataoriented systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems. Wirelesscommunication systems may be multiple-access systems capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA)systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE)systems, and other orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)systems.

Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system cansimultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals(also known as user equipments (UEs), user terminals, or accessterminals (ATs)). Each terminal communicates with one or more basestations (also known as access points (APs), eNodeBs, or eNBs) viatransmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (alsoreferred to as a downlink or DL) refers to the communication link fromthe base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (also referredto as an uplink or UL) refers to the communication link from theterminals to the base stations. These communication links may beestablished via single-in-single-out, single-in-multiple out,multiple-in-single-out, or multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) systems.

Newer multiple access systems, for example, LTE, deliver faster datathroughput than older technologies. Faster downlink rates, in turn, havesparked a greater demand for higher-bandwidth content, such ashigh-resolution graphics and video, for use on or with mobile devices.Therefore, demand for bandwidth on wireless communications systemscontinues to increase despite availability of higher data throughputover wireless interfaces, and this trend is likely to continue. However,wireless spectrum is a limited and regulated resource. Therefore, newapproaches are needed in wireless communications to more fully utilizethis limited resource and satisfy consumer demand.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication is disclosed. The method includes receiving measurementreports from multiple first wireless devices operating in a specificarea and operating on a spectrum that is different from an authorizedshared access (ASA) spectrum. The method also includes adjusting aconfiguration for one or more second wireless devices operating on theASA spectrum based on the measurement reports and/or configurationadjustment information.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an apparatusincluding means for receiving measurement reports from multiple firstwireless devices operating in a specific area and operating on aspectrum that is different from an ASA spectrum. The apparatus alsoincludes means for adjusting a configuration for one or more secondwireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum based on the measurementreports and/or configuration adjustment information.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program productfor wireless communications in a wireless network is disclosed. Thecomputer readable medium has non-transitory program code recordedthereon which, when executed by the processor(s), causes theprocessor(s) to perform operations of receiving measurement reports frommultiple first wireless devices operating in a specific area andoperating on a spectrum that is different from an ASA spectrum. Theprogram code also causes the processor(s) to adjust a configuration forone or more second wireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum basedon the measurement reports and/or configuration adjustment information.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus forwireless communications. That apparatus has a memory and at least oneprocessor coupled to the memory. The processor(s) is configured toreceive measurement reports from multiple first wireless devicesoperating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that isdifferent from an ASA spectrum. The processor(s) is also configured toadjust a configuration for one or more second wireless devices operatingon the ASA spectrum based on the measurement reports and/orconfiguration adjustment information.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be describedbelow. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thisdisclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designingother structures for carrying out the same purposes of the presentdisclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art thatsuch equivalent constructions do not depart from the teachings of thedisclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features,which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as toits organization and method of operation, together with further objectsand advantages, will be better understood from the following descriptionwhen considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided forthe purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended asa definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application may be more fully appreciated in connection withthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates details of a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 illustrates details of a wireless communication system havingmultiple cells.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing aspects of an Authorized Shared Access(ASA) controller coupled to different wireless communication systemsincluding one primary user and one secondary user.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing aspects of an ASA controller coupledto different wireless communication systems including one primary userand multiple secondary users.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing aspects of an ASA controller coupledto different wireless communication systems and elements within asecondary user for supporting ASA.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing aspects of protection zones andexclusion zone for facilitating ASA.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing further aspects of protectionzones and exclusion zone for facilitating ASA.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing examples of alternative approachesfor determining an exclusion zone.

FIG. 9 is a map illustrating examples of various types of staticexclusion zones.

FIG. 10 is a TABLE showing examples of power limits placed ontransmitters based on transmitter class.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of class-dependentexclusion zones based on transmitter class.

FIG. 12 is a frequency-power line diagram showing an example ofprotection zone limits.

FIG. 13 is a frequency-power line diagram showing an example ofprotection zone limits for two secondary systems.

FIG. 14 is a frequency-power line diagram showing an example ofpartitioning interference related protection zone parameters formultiple secondary systems.

FIG. 15 is a map showing examples of protection zones with multipleboundaries.

FIG. 16 is a map showing examples of geographical partitioning ofprotection zones.

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a setup procedurecall flow for an ASA interface.

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an exclusion zonemanagement procedure call flow.

FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a protection zonemanagement procedure call flow.

FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an authorizationrequest procedure call flow.

FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an ASA resetprocedure call flow.

FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of “keep alive”procedure call flow.

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing an example of deployment statusquery procedure call flow.

FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a networkoperational status query procedure call flow.

FIG. 25 is a TABLE showing examples of message headers for sessionmanagement and error check routing.

FIG. 26 is a TABLE showing examples of message types for an ASA-1interface forward direction.

FIG. 27 is a TABLE showing examples of message types for an ASA-1interface reverse direction.

FIG. 28 is a TABLE showing examples of message types for an ASA-2interface forward direction.

FIG. 29 is a TABLE showing examples of message types for an ASA-2interface reverse direction.

FIG. 30 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a call flow for aprocedure vacating an ASA spectrum.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a method for verifyingauthorized shared access operation according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus employing a processing system accordingto one aspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating inauthorized shared access between two or more wireless communicationssystems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. Invarious embodiments, the techniques and apparatus described herein maybe used for wireless communication networks such as Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, OrthogonalFDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTEnetworks, GSM networks, as well as other communications networks. Asdescribed herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be usedinterchangeably.

A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such as UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, and the like. UTRA includesWideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and Low Chip Rate (LCR). Cdma2000 covers IS-2000,IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM). 3GPP defines standards for the GSM EDGE(Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Radio Access Network (RAN), alsodenoted as GERAN. GERAN is the radio component of GSM/EDGE, togetherwith the network that joins the base stations (for example, the Ater andAbis interfaces) and the base station controllers (A interfaces, etc.).The radio access network represents a component of a GSM network,through which phone calls and packet data are routed from and to thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Internet to and fromsubscriber handsets, also known as user terminals or user equipments(UEs). A mobile phone operator's network may comprise one or moreGERANs, which may be coupled with UTRANs in the case of a UMTS/GSMnetwork. An operator network may also include one or more LTE networks,and/or one or more other networks. The various different network typesmay use different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and Radio AccessNetworks (RANs).

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM and thelike. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). In particular, Long Term Evolution(LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS andLTE are described in documents provided from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP), and cdma2000 is described indocuments from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project2” (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known orare being developed. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunicationsassociations that aims to define a globally applicable third generation(3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a3GPP project aimed at improving the Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS) mobile phone standard. The 3GPP may define specificationsfor the next generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobiledevices. For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and techniquesmay be described below for LTE implementations or in an LTE-centric way,and LTE terminology may be used as illustrative examples in portions ofthe description below; however, the description is not intended to belimited to LTE applications. Indeed, the present disclosure is concernedwith shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using differentRadio Access Technologies or Radio Air Interfaces. Accordingly, it maybe apparent to one of skill in the art that the systems, apparatus andmethods described herein may be applied to other communications systemsand applications.

System designs may support various time-frequency reference signals forthe downlink and uplink to facilitate beamforming and other functions. Areference signal is a signal generated based on known data and may alsobe referred to as a pilot, preamble, training signal, sounding signal,and the like. A reference signal may be used by a receiver for variouspurposes such as channel estimation, coherent demodulation, channelquality measurement, signal strength measurement, and the like. MIMOsystems using multiple antennas generally provide for coordination ofsending of reference signals between antennas; however, LTE systems donot in general provide for coordination of sending of reference signalsfrom multiple base stations or eNBs.

In some implementations, a system may use time division duplexing (TDD).For TDD, the downlink and uplink share the same frequency spectrum orchannel, and downlink and uplink transmissions are sent on the samefrequency spectrum. The downlink channel response may thus be correlatedwith the uplink channel response. Reciprocity may allow a downlinkchannel to be estimated based on transmissions sent via the uplink.These uplink transmissions may be reference signals or uplink controlchannels (which may be used as reference symbols after demodulation).The uplink transmissions may allow for estimation of a space-selectivechannel via multiple antennas.

In LTE implementations, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) is used for the downlink—that is, from a base station, accesspoint or eNodeB (eNB) to a user terminal or UE. Use of OFDM meets theLTE requirement for spectrum flexibility and enables cost-efficientsolutions for very wide carriers with high peak rates, and is awell-established technology. For example, OFDM is used in standards suchas IEEE 802.11a/g, 802.16, High Performance Radio LAN-2 (HIPERLAN-2,wherein LAN stands for Local Area Network) standardized by the EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Digital VideoBroadcasting (DVB) published by the Joint Technical Committee of ETSI,and other standards.

Time frequency physical resource blocks (also denoted here in asresource blocks or “RBs” for brevity) may be defined in OFDM systems asgroups of transport carriers (e.g., sub-carriers) or intervals that areassigned to transport data. The RBs are defined over a time andfrequency period. Resource blocks are comprised of time-frequencyresource elements (also denoted here in as resource elements or “REs”for brevity), which may be defined by indices of time and frequency in aslot. Additional details of LTE RBs and REs are described in the 3GPPspecifications, such as, for example, 3GPP TS 36.211.

UMTS LTE supports scalable carrier bandwidths from 20 MHz down to 1.4MHZ. In LTE, an RB is defined as 12 sub-carriers when the subcarrierbandwidth is 15 kHz, or 24 sub-carriers when the sub-carrier bandwidthis 7.5 kHz. In an exemplary implementation, in the time domain there isa defined radio frame that is 10 ms long and consists of 10 subframes of1 millisecond (ms) each. Every subframe consists of 2 slots, where eachslot is 0.5 ms. The subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain in thiscase is 15 kHz. Twelve of these subcarriers together (per slot)constitute an RB, so in this implementation one resource block is 180kHz. Six Resource blocks fit in a carrier of 1.4 MHz and 100 resourceblocks fit in a carrier of 20 MHz.

Various other aspects and features of the disclosure are furtherdescribed below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may beembodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure,function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative andnot limiting. Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary level ofskill in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example,a method may be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus,and/or as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium forexecution on a processor or computer. Furthermore, an aspect maycomprise at least one element of a claim.

FIG. 1 illustrates details of an implementation of a multiple accesswireless communication system, which may be an LTE system, on whichaspects as further described subsequently may be implemented. An evolvedNodeB (eNB) 100 (also known as a base station, access point or AP) mayinclude multiple antenna groups, one including 104 and 106, anotherincluding 108 and 110, and an additional including 112 and 114. In FIG.1, only two antennas are shown for each antenna group; however, more orfewer antennas may be utilized for each antenna group. A user equipment(UE) 116 (also known as an user terminal, access terminal, or AT) is incommunication with antennas 112 and 114, where antennas 112 and 114transmit information to UE 116 over forward link (also known as adownlink) 120 and receive information from UE 116 over reverse link(also known as an uplink) 118. A second UE 122 may be in communicationwith antennas 104 and 106, where antennas 104 and 106 transmitinformation to UE 122 over forward link 126 and receive information fromUEs 122 over reverse link 124.

In a frequency division duplex (FDD) system, communication links 118,120, 124 and 126 may use different frequencies for communication. Forexample, forward link 120 may use a different frequency then that usedby reverse link 118. In a time division duplex (TDD) system, downlinksand uplinks may be shared.

Each group of antennas and/or the area in which they are designed tocommunicate is often referred to as a sector of the eNB. Antenna groupseach are designed to communicate to UEs in a sector of the areas coveredby eNB 100. In communication over forward links 120 and 126, thetransmitting antennas of eNB 100 utilize beamforming in order to improvethe signal-to-noise ratio of forward links for the different UEs 116 and122. Also, an eNB using beamforming to transmit to UEs scatteredrandomly through its coverage causes less interference to UEs inneighboring cells than an eNB transmitting through a single antenna toall its UEs. An eNB may be a fixed station used for communicating withthe UEs and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, orsome other equivalent terminology. A UE may also be called an accessterminal, AT, user equipment, wireless communication device, terminal,or some other equivalent terminology. UEs, such as UE 116 and 122, maybe further configured to operate with other nodes of other communicationnetworks (not shown), such as, for example, GERAN and/or UTRAN networks.Moreover, base stations, such as eNB 100, may be configured tofacilitate handover of served UEs to base stations of the othernetworks, such as through use of a redirection command.

FIG. 2 illustrates details of an implementation of a multiple accesswireless communication system 200, such as an LTE system, on whichaspects, such as are described subsequently herein, may be implemented.The multiple access wireless communication system 200 includes multiplecells, including cells 202, 204, and 206. In one aspect, the cells 202,204, and 206 may include an eNB that includes multiple sectors. Themultiple sectors can be formed by groups of antennas with each antennaresponsible for communication with UEs in a portion of the cell. Forexample, in cell 202, antenna groups 212, 214, and 216 may eachcorrespond to a different sector. In cell 204, antenna groups 218, 220,and 222 each correspond to a different sector. In cell 206, antennagroups 224, 226, and 228 each correspond to a different sector. Thecells 202, 204, and 206 can include several wireless communicationdevices (e.g., user equipment or UEs) which can be in communication withone or more sectors of each cell 202, 204, or 206. For example, UEs 230and 232 can be in communication with eNB 242, UEs 234 and 236 can be incommunication with eNB 244, and UEs 238 and 240 can be in communicationwith eNB 246. The cells and associated base stations may be coupled to asystem controller 250, which may be part of a core or backhaul networkor may provide connectivity to a core or backhaul network, including,for example, an MME and SGW, such as may be used to perform functions asfurther described herein related to multimode coordination andoperation, as well as other aspects described herein.

An operator's system may include multiple networks, which may be ofmultiple types (for example, in addition to the LTE networkconfigurations shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) using different RATs. Forexample, one type may be an LTE system, which is data-centric. Anothertype may be a UTRAN system, such as a W-CDMA system. Yet another typemay be a GERAN system, which may in some cases be Dual Transfer Mode(DTM) capable (also denoted herein as a DTM GERAN). Some GERAN networksmay be non-DTM capable. Multimode user terminals, such as UEs, may beconfigured to operate in multiple networks, such as these, as well asother (e.g., WiFi or WiMax networks, etc.).

Authorized Shared Access

Authorized shared access (ASA) allocates, to a secondary user(s),portions of spectrum that are not continuously used by an incumbentsystem(s). The incumbent system may be referred to as a primary licenseeor a primary user that is given a primary license for a band offrequencies. The incumbent system may not use the entire frequency bandin all locations and/or at all times. The secondary user may be referredto as a secondary licensee or a secondary network. Aspects of thepresent disclosure are directed to an ASA implementation. Still, the ASAtechnology is not limited to the illustrated configurations as otherconfigurations are also contemplated. The ASA spectrum refers toportion(s) of a spectrum that is not used by a primary user and has beenlicensed for use by a secondary user, such as an ASA operator. ASAspectrum availability may be specified by location, frequency, and/ortime. It should be noted that the authorized shared access may also bereferred to as licensed shared access (LSA).

ASA Architecture

In one configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, an ASA architecture 300includes an ASA controller 302 coupled to an incumbent networkcontroller 312 of a primary user and an ASA network manager 314 of anASA network. The primary user may be a primary ASA licensee and the ASAnetwork may be a secondary user.

In one configuration, the incumbent network controller is a networkentity operated by the primary user that controls and/or manages thenetwork operating in the ASA spectrum. Furthermore, the ASA networkmanager may be a network entity operated by the ASA network operatorthat controls and/or manages an associated network, including but notlimited to the devices operating in the ASA spectrum. Additionally, thesecondary licensee may be a wireless network operator that has obtainedan ASA license to use the ASA spectrum. Furthermore, in oneconfiguration, the ASA controller is a network entity that receivesinformation from the incumbent network controller on the available ASAspectrum that may be used by an ASA network. The ASA controller may alsotransmit control information to the ASA network manager to notify theASA network manager of the available ASA spectrum.

In the present configuration, the incumbent network controller 312 isaware of the use of the ASA spectrum by the primary user at specifiedtimes and/or locations. The incumbent network controller 312 may provideinformation to the ASA controller 302 for the incumbent usage of the ASAspectrum. There are several methods that the incumbent networkcontroller 312 can use to provide this information to the ASA controller302. In one configuration, the incumbent network controller 312 providesa set of exclusion zones and/or exclusion times to the ASA controller302. In another configuration, the incumbent network controller 312specifies a threshold for allowed interference at a set of locations.The threshold for allowed interference may be referred to as incumbentprotection information. In this configuration, the incumbent protectioninformation is transmitted to the ASA controller 302 over an ASA-1interface 316. Incumbent protection information may be stored by the ASAcontroller 302 in a database 306.

The ASA-1 interface refers to the interface between the primary user andthe ASA controller. The ASA-2 interface refers to the interface betweenthe ASA controller and the ASA network management system. Moreover, theASA-3 interface refers to the interface between the ASA network managerand the ASA network elements. Furthermore, geographic sharing refers toan ASA sharing model in which the ASA network can operate throughout ageographic region for an extended period of time. The network is notpermitted to operate in regions specified by exclusion zones.

The ASA controller 302 uses the information from the incumbent networkcontroller 312 to determine the ASA spectrum that may be used by the ASAnetwork. That is, the ASA controller 302 determines the ASA spectrumthat may be used for a specific time and/or a specific location based onrules specified in a rules database 308. The rules database 308 may beaccessed by an ASA processor 304 and stores the regulatory rules thatare set by local regulations. These rules may not be modified by theASA-1 or the ASA-2 interfaces, and may be updated by the individual ororganization that manages the ASA controller 302. The available ASAspectrum, as calculated by the rules in the rules database 308, may bestored in the ASA spectrum availability database 310.

The ASA controller 302 may send information to the ASA network manager314 on the available ASA spectrum via an ASA-2 interface 318, based onthe spectrum availability database. The ASA network manager 314 may knowor determine the geographic location of base stations under its controland also information about the transmission characteristics of thesebase stations, such as transmit power and/or supported frequencies ofoperation. The ASA network manager 314 may query the ASA controller 302to discover the available ASA spectrum in a given location or ageographic region. Also, the ASA controller 302 may notify the ASAnetwork manager 314 of any updates to the ASA spectrum availability inreal-time. This allows the ASA controller 302 to notify the ASA networkmanager 314 if the ASA spectrum is no longer available, so that the ASAnetwork can stop using that spectrum and the incumbent networkcontroller 312 can obtain exclusive access to the ASA spectrum in realtime.

The ASA network manager 314 may be embedded in a standard networkelement, depending on the core network technology. For example, if theASA network is a long term evolution (LTE) network, the ASA networkmanager can be embedded in an operations, administration, andmaintenance (OAM) server.

In FIG. 4, an incumbent network controller and a single ASA networkmanager are illustrated as being coupled to the ASA controller. It isalso possible for multiple ASA networks (e.g., ASA network A, ASAnetwork B and ASA network C) to be connected to an ASA controller 402,as in a system 400 shown in FIG. 4. ASA network A includes an ASAnetwork A manager 414 coupled to the ASA controller 402, ASA network Bincludes an ASA network B manager 420 coupled to the ASA controller 402,and ASA network C includes an ASA network C manager 422 coupled to theASA controller 402.

In this example, the multiple ASA networks may share the same ASAspectrum. The ASA spectrum may be shared via various implementations. Inone example, the ASA spectrum is shared for a given region, so that eachnetwork is restricted to a subband within the ASA spectrum. In anotherexample, the ASA networks share the ASA spectrum by using timingsynchronization and scheduling the channel access of the differentnetworks.

The system 400 may further include an incumbent network controller 412of a primary user communicating with the ASA controller 402 via an ASA-1interface 416, to provide incumbent protection information for adatabase 406. The ASA controller 402 may include a processor 404 coupledto a rules database 408 and ASA spectrum availability database 410. TheASA controller 402 may communicate with the ASA network managers 414,420 and 422 via an ASA-2 interface 418. The ASA networks A, B, C may besecondary users.

The ASA network manager(s) may interact with various network elements,such as eNodeBs, to achieve the desired spectrum use control. Theinteraction may be implemented via the ASA-3 interface as shown in FIG.5. As shown in FIG. 5, a system 500 includes ASA-3 interfaces betweenthe eNodeBs 516, 518 in the Radio Access Network 512 and an ASA networkmanager node embedded in an operations, administration, and maintenanceserver 510. The Radio Access Network 512 may be coupled to a corenetwork 514. An ASA controller 502 may be coupled to the operations,administration, and maintenance server 510 via an ASA-2 interface 508and to a network controller of a primary user 504 via an ASA-1 interface506.

In some cases, multiple incumbent network controllers are specified forthe same ASA spectrum. That is, a single incumbent network controllermay provide information about incumbent protection for a given ASAfrequency band. Therefore, the architecture may be limited to a singleincumbent network controller. However, it is noted that multipleincumbent network controllers may be supported. Still, it may bedesirable to limit the network to a single incumbent network controller.

ASA Operations

Interfaces and certain aspects for controlling ASA conditions aredescribed for various aspects of the present disclosure. In actualdeployments, the ASA operational conditions may differ in terms of aspecified level of protection, sensitivity of information sharing, timescale of operating mode changes, predictability and accuracy of networkoperational parameters, and/or knowledge of propagation conditionsand/or RF environment.

The control logic for conventional systems may be designed to onlymanage minor changes to the system over time. Aspects of the presenteddisclosure are directed to improved control logic. A list of operationalassumptions is provided in TABLE 1.

TABLE 1 Target specifications for ASA functions Required functionalityAssumption Handling of Intelligent partitioning is used (i.e., grantingauthorization cumulative to operate is not based on adding worst caseassumptions interference regarding interference caused). Note that theintelligent partitioning is related to the difference between exclusionzones and protection zones described elsewhere herein Time scale ofchanges Instantaneous messaging. for vacating spectrum Compliance withvacate request within a few seconds Time scale of changes Delay betweenASA spectrum being indicated available for occupying and both basestations and UEs operating in an ASA spectrum spectrum. Specificationsmay be relaxed compared to time allowed for vacating the spectrum.Geolocation Secondary user access points have geolocation capabilitycapability. Geolocation accuracy estimates are available at least overASA-3. Mobile devices do not have geolocation capability Sensingcapability Not assumed Air-interface No assumption on primary userspectrum use (can be technology communication link, beacon signal,radar) LTE operation by secondary user is assumed Duplex DL and/or UL ofsecondary user may operate in ASA arrangement spectrum. Either FDD orTDD operation Intra-ASA band Provide interference protection for primaryuser. Interference Provide primary to secondary interference informationto direction secondary user. Interference into ASA A set of newspecifications should be defined as needed band and from ASA on an ASAband specific basis for compliance with band specifications forprotection of channels adjacent to the ASA band and to enable operationin the presence of interference from those adjacent channels. ParameterIt is a desirable feature to be able to hide primary user concealmentoperation details from secondary users and to hide secondary useroperation details from each other. It is not an objective to hidesecondary user operation details from the primary user, although someASA controller operation model could enable this feature. Servicecontinuity Connection loss should be handled and detected at the ASAprotocol level.

The improved design presented for aspects of the present disclosuretarget the specifications listed in TABLE 1. A simplified design,targeting initial deployments, is specified in TABLE 2.

TABLE 2 Target requirements for the simplified ASA design (items with‘*’ differ from the modified design) Required functionality AssumptionHandling Intelligent partitioning is not specified (i.e., granting ofcumulative authorization to operate can be based on worst caseinterference (*) assumptions). Time scale of changes Instantaneousmessaging. for vacating spectrum Compliance with vacate request shouldbe performed within a few seconds Time scale of changes Delay betweenASA spectrum being indicated available for occupying spectrum and bothbase stations and UEs operating in ASA spectrum. Specifications may berelaxed compared to time allowed for vacating the spectrum. Geolocationcapability Secondary user access points have geolocation capability.Sensing capability Mobile devices do not have geolocation capability.Not assumed Air-interface technology No assumption on primary userspectrum use (can be communication link, beacon signal, radar) LTEoperation by secondary user is assumed Duplex DL and/or UL of secondaryuser may operate in ASA arrangement spectrum. Either FDD or TDDoperation Intra-ASA band Provide interference protection for primaryuser. Interference direction (*) Interference into ASA Specificationsshould be defined as needed on an ASA band and from ASA band specificbasis for compliance with specifications band for protection of channelsadjacent to the ASA band and to enable operation in the presence ofinterference from those adjacent channels. Parameter concealment It is adesirable feature to be able to hide primary user operation details fromsecondary users and to hide secondary user operation details fromprimary user. Service continuity Connection loss has to be handled anddetected at the ASA protocol level.

In one configuration, interface standardization is not a requirement,although the possibility of standardization is not precluded.

Improved ASA Design

ASA-1 Interface

The messages that are sent over the ASA-1 interface are described below.The content of each message is provided and the specific networkprotocol, including security, is also discussed below.

There are several methods that can be used to specify protection of anincumbent network. One method is to specify a geographic area of supportand exclusion zones within that geographic area. Another method is tospecify a threshold for an allowed interference at a specific locationor region.

FIG. 6 illustrates exclusion zones and protection zones. An exclusionzone refers to a geographic region in which an ASA network is notpermitted to operate. A protection zone refers to a geographic region inwhich interference from a secondary user is specified to be below athreshold in order to reduce interference experienced by the primaryuser. As shown in FIG. 6, a system 600 includes eNodeBs for primary andsecondary users. Protection zones 606, 608 for the UEs 602, 604 of theprimary user may be smaller in area than associated exclusion zones witha boundary 614 for transmitters 610, 612 of a secondary user. However,zone size does not define the difference between protection andexclusion zones. Protection zones are design targets for ASA, whileexclusion zones may represent derived information that may be conveyedover the ASA interfaces. In one example, exclusion zones may be the onlyinformation conveyed over the ASA interfaces.

In some cases, protection zones are converted to exclusion zones for ASAoperation. The conversion may be based on worst case assumptions for thesecondary user network deployment or may be based on knowledge of theactual deployment. The latter may provide improved usage of theresources by reducing or even minimizing the exclusion zones as shown inthe dynamic exclusion zone deployment 700 of FIG. 7. Static and dynamicexclusion parameter determination may be based on knowledge of actualdeployment.

In some cases, the exclusion zones may be defined to apply only towireless devices with certain characteristics, such as eNodeBs with atransmit power and/or antenna gain that is greater than a threshold.Applying exclusion zones to wireless devices with a specifiedcharacteristic allows for a flexible set of constraints and improves theuse of available resources by the secondary user.

As shown in FIG. 7, a primary user receiver 702 uses a protection zone706. A static exclusion zone may be derived based on worst-caseassumptions. The exclusion zone boundary 716 may be calculated toexclude interference from multiple worst-case (not actual deployed)transmitters 712 of the secondary user. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7,using the same or a similar protection zone 708 for the receiver 704, anexclusion zone boundary 714 based on known deployment of the transmitter710 may encompass a smaller area than the boundary 716 based on aworst-case assumption.

As shown in FIG. 8, various ASA control options and corresponding ASAinterface design options may depend on where the protection zone toexclusion zone conversion is performed. In an improved design option,the conversion may be performed by the ASA controller 804.Alternatively, the conversion can be performed by the ASA networkmanager 806. These two options 800 are shown as a first approach 810 anda second approach 820, respectively, in FIG. 8.

In one configuration for network operations, the primary user 802 mayprovide protection zone information to the ASA controller 804 at time812. Furthermore, at time 814, the ASA network manager 806 may providesystem parameters to the ASA controller 804, such as eNodeB locationsand transmit powers. At time 816, the ASA controller 804 may determineinterference in the protection zone, including contribution from alleNodeBs of the secondary network. At time 818, the ASA controller 804may transmit information to the network manager 806 indicating whetheruse of the shared spectrum is permitted at one or more eNodeB's of thesecondary network.

In another configuration for network operations, the primary user 802may provide protection zone information to the ASA controller 804 attime 822. Furthermore, at time 824 the ASA controller 804 may providethe protection zone information to the network manager 806. The networkmanager 806 may obtain a list of potential eNodeB sites (time 826) anddetermine allowed sites based on the protection zone information (time828). In another configuration, the conversion is performed by theincumbent network controller and only exclusion zone parameters may beexchanged over the ASA interfaces. In another configuration, theincumbent network controller provides both exclusion zone informationand protection zone information. Specifically, the exclusion zones aredefined to avoid worst case interference scenarios and the ASAcontroller 804 extends the exclusion zones based on the protection zoneinformation, knowledge of the propagation environment, and/or deploymentdetails of the secondary network.

Exclusion Zones

For exclusion zone protection, a controller specifies a geographic areaof support and exclusion zones within that geographic area. Thegeographic area may be, for example, a specific country and theexclusion zones may be regions within that country where an ASA networkbase station cannot transmit. For each of the exclusion zones, the validtime for that exclusion zone is included in the message. These exclusionzones may be overlapping, so that it is possible to exclude the entiregeographic region with a single exclusion zone, and all the ASA networkswill evacuate the ASA spectrum for that geographic area at the specifiedtime. Furthermore, a validity time may be set for an exclusion zone toinfinity, so that the region specified by the exclusion zone is alwaysprotected.

Each ASA-1 message may be specified by a table listing the elements ofthe message and the format of each element, as shown in TABLE 3 below.

The geographic area of support may be sent to the ASA controller and maybe formatted as an ANSI string specifying a country using the ISOcountry code (e.g., “FR” for France) or an ANSI string with multiplecountry codes separated by a comma (e.g., “FR, DE” for France andGermany). For situations where the ASA controller may only operate in asingle country, this message may not be used because the geographic areaof support is known.

TABLE 3 Geographic Area of Support Field Range of Values ValuesGeographic Area of Support ASIC string Country Code (ISO spec)

Geographical areas for exclusion zones may be described in variousformats. In one example, an explicit definition is specified so that thegeographical area is described as an enclosure of a set of geometricalelements, such as points, lines, and/or curves with the coordinatesbeing explicitly listed. In another example, an implicit definition isspecified where the geographical area is described as an index thatpoints to a list of predefined geographical areas. In another example,the reuse of other area definitions is specified. In this example,licensing area descriptions are used, such as administrative region,regional economic area groupings (REAGs), metropolitan statistical areas(MSAs), and/or rural service areas (RSAs).

FIG. 9 illustrates the above examples. As shown in FIG. 9, ageographical map 900 includes examples of an administrative regionexclusion zone 902, a geometric region exclusion zone 904, and atopographic exclusion zone 906.

In some cases, different, partially overlapping exclusion zones may bedefined for different device classes. An example of different deviceclasses is shown in the TABLE 1000 of FIG. 10. Specifically, FIG. 10shows various parameters that may be used to group base stations intodifferent classes. An example of different exclusion zones 1100 is basedon device class for a given primary receiver 1102 (FIG. 11). Aninnermost exclusion zone boundary 1116 excludes all classes 1118 of basestations. A second exclusion zone boundary 1112 outside of the innermostexclusion zone boundary 1116 excludes all classes of base stationsexcept for femto eNodeBs 1114. A third exclusion zone boundary 1108outside of the second exclusion zone boundary 1112 may exclude macrobase stations only, allowing femto or pico eNodeBs 1110. Outside of thethird exclusion zone boundary 1108, all classes 1104 of base stationsare allowed.

It may be beneficial to define some device subclasses, such as, forexample, different ranges of conducted power for macro base stations,outdoor/indoor pico base station, MIMO capability, number of Txantennas, and/or coordinated multi-point (CoMP) joint transmissioncapability. Further subclasses may be defined as needed and agreed amongsystem operators.

Exclusion Zones for UEs

In some cases, it may be difficult to enforce exclusion zones for UEsbecause it is not assumed that geolocation information is universallyavailable for all UEs. In one configuration, a control method may assumethat exclusion zones for UEs are handled via defining and/or extendingexclusion zones for serving eNodeBs.

A relationship may exist between the eNodeB Tx power and the eNodeBcoverage radius that defines the possible UE locations. The DL exclusionzone may be determined with some definable relationship to the ULexclusion zone. However, it cannot be assumed that the interferencetolerated by the primary user on the UL frequency and on the DLfrequency are related to each other in a predefined manner. Therefore,it may be desirable to extend the DL exclusion zone by a marginaccounting for the desired interference protection from the ULfrequency. Other reasons for extending the DL exclusion zone areprovided elsewhere in this disclosure.

Exclusion Zones for TDD

In the case of TDD, it may be assumed that the interference tolerated bythe primary user is the same for the UL as for the DL. However, anextension of the exclusion zone compared to a DL only case may bespecified when the UE is near the edge of a coverage border so that theUE radiated transmit power is larger than the field strength of thereceived eNodeB power. Additionally, or alternatively, an extension ofthe exclusion zone compared to a DL only case may also be specified whena UE is beyond a specific distance from the coverage area and thereceived power from the eNodeB exceeds the received power from the UE.Additionally, or alternatively, an extension of the exclusion zonecompared to a DL only case may also be specified when the location ofthe UEs is not known and the UEs may aggregate at the worst case edge ofcoverage from the perspective of interference caused to the primaryuser.

In general, extending the DL exclusion zone by a factor of two maysuffice in the conventional deployment. Specifically, the factor iscalculated based in part on the assumption that the UL cell throughputis typically not greater than the DL cell throughput.

Multi-Antenna Exclusion Zones

When multiple antennas transmit correlated signals, the signal will beconstructively added in certain locations/directions. For example, inthe DL MIMO case, the eNodeB may use beamforming. Beamforming can beused advantageously, where the eNodeB intentionally beamforms away fromthe protection zone. In the conventional network, beamforming may createa random fluctuation around the mean power with a worst case peak gainof g_(MIMO)=10·log₁₀(N_(Tx)) where N_(Tx) is the number of transmitantennas employed. g_(MIMO) can be used as a backoff factor whenconverting protection zones to exclusion zones.

A similar effect occurs with enhanced multimedia broadcast multicastservice (eMBMS) and/or DL CoMP. In these cases, multiple eNodeBs maytransmit correlated data. Similar to the MIMO case, a worst case gainpeak can be calculated as g_(CoMP)=10·log₁₀ (N_(JT)) where N_(JT) is thenumber of eNodeBs cooperating in joint transmission or transmittingeMBMS data. However, the g_(CoMP) value may be overly conservativebecause in an evolved CoMP scheme, the transmit powers are not evenlydistributed among participating eNodeBs. Additionally, it is unlikelythat the point where the received power from each participating eNodeBfor either CoMP joint transmission or enhanced multimedia broadcastmulticast service falls within the protection zone.

It should be noted that g_(CoMP)=0 for coordinated beamforming (CBF)CoMP schemes. Also, when CoMP and MIMO are used together, g_(MIMO) andg_(CoMP) are cumulative.

Protection Zones

Protection zones differ from exclusion zones in that instead ofspecifying an area within which certain device types cannot operate, atolerable interference level is defined and the exclusion zone iscalculated by the ASA controller or ASA network manager with theknowledge of deployed device classes and device densities. Protectionzones may provide more flexibility for the secondary users while meetingthe specified interference protection. Therefore, defining protectionzones may provide improved use of the ASA spectrum. Protection zones canbe defined, for example, with the attributes given in TABLE 4 below.

TABLE 4 Protection zone attributes Protection zone parameter typeProtection zone parameter Geographical area Geographical area descriptorcoordinates Time Start time Duration Receiver Receiver antenna gainassumption Receiver antenna orientation Receiver antenna height Receivedpower Lower endpoint of frequency interval Upper endpoint of frequencyinterval Received power limit within frequency interval

As an example, protection zone received power limits can be set as shownin FIG. 12, illustrating a frequency-power (P) limit distribution 1200according to a relationship 1202. A first frequency interval 1204 maycorrespond to the operating frequency of an ASA secondary user and maybe assigned a received power limit p2. Furthermore, a second frequencyinterval 1206 may correspond to the operating frequency of an ASAprimary user and may be assigned a limit of p1. A reason for definingreceived power limits for the operating frequency of an ASA secondaryuser may be that the devices used by the primary user may have finiteadjacent channel selectivity (ACS) capability.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a distribution 1300 according to anetwork deployment. The network deployment assumes two secondary users,one in each first frequency interval 1304 and second frequency interval1306, and a primary user is assumed in a third frequency interval 1308.A received power limit 1302 may be specified for different frequencyintervals.

When more than one secondary user interacts with a primary user, thetolerable received power limits may have to be partitioned among thesecondary users. An example of such partitioning is illustrated indiagram 1400 of FIG. 14, based on the protection zone arrangement givenin FIG. 9. Again, two secondary users are assumed, one in each firstfrequency interval 1404 and second frequency interval 1406, and aprimary user is assumed in a third frequency interval 1408. A receivedpower limit 1410 to the first secondary user and received power limit1412 to a second secondary user is also shown in FIG. 14. A receivedpower limit 1402 may be specified for different frequency intervals.Note that the partitioning can be determined by the incumbent networkcontroller or by the ASA controller.

Interference Partitioning Based on Geographical Area

In some cases, ASA secondary users are separated by geography. In thesecases, protection zones with 3-way boundaries may occur. An example isshown in the adjoining zones 1500 of FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, in aprotection zone 1502 for the primary user, cumulative interferenceoccurs in an area 1508 near both secondary zones 1504, 1506. To maintainthe desired interference protection, the protection zone may bepartitioned in the area of multiple boundaries. As shown in adjoiningzones 1600 of FIG. 16, the cumulative interference area 1508 isdesignated as a second protection zone for the primary user. In theexample of FIG. 16, the specified received power levels in the secondprotection area are less than the received power levels in the firstprotection area.

Protection Zones for TDD

The protection zone parameters are attributable to receivers, therefore,the source of the interference, such as whether the interference iscaused by eNodeBs or UEs, is inconsequential. Therefore, the sameprotection zone description is applicable to both FDD and TDD.

Other ASA-1 Parameters

For the purposes of diagnosis and error handling, the primary user maysend measured interference parameters over the ASA-1 interface to theASA controller. Some of the interference parameters are listed in TABLE5 below.

TABLE 5 Interference parameter type Interference parameter Geographicalarea Geographical area descriptor coordinate(s) Time Start time DurationReceiver assumption Receiver antenna gain Receiver antenna orientation(horizontal and tilt) Receiver antenna height Received interferenceLower endpoint of frequency interval Upper endpoint of frequencyinterval Received interference power within frequency interval

Note that the format of parameters in TABLE 5 can be identical to thoselisted in TABLE 4.

Additionally, the primary user may explicitly measure signal sourcesoperated by secondary users. The signal source parameters can betransmitted via the message formats described in TABLE 6 below.

TABLE 6 Signal source parameter type Signal source parameter Physicalcell ID Cell ID of eNodeB or Cell ID used for UL SRS/DM-RS sequencegeneration by UE Global cell ID Cell ID of eNodeB ASA ID Special ASAidentifier, if defined Time Start time Duration Operating Operating ASAband frequency Operating ASA channel Received Lower endpoint offrequency interval¹ interference Upper endpoint of frequency interval¹Received interference power within frequency interval ¹Frequencyinterval may not correspond to fundamental transmission. It cancorrespond, for example, to out-of-band emissions if the signal sourceis identifiable.

Additionally, as optional functionality, the primary user may provideinformation on the expected interference caused by the primary user tothe secondary user(s). The signal source parameters may be conveyed viamessage formats described in TABLE 7 below.

TABLE 7 Signal source parameter type Signal source parameter ASA IDSpecial ASA identifier of primary user, if defined Geographical areaGeographical area descriptor coordinate(s) Time Start time DurationOperating frequency Operating ASA band Operating ASA channel Receiverassumption Receiver antenna gain Receiver antenna orientation(horizontal and tilt) Receiver antenna height Caused interference Lowerendpoint of frequency interval¹ Upper endpoint of frequency interval¹Caused interference power within frequency interval ¹Frequency intervalmay not correspond to fundamental transmission. It can correspond, forexample, to out-of-band emissions.ASA Controller Functions

The ASA controller should provide ASA parameter aggregation, ASAparameter partition, ASA parameter translation, ASA parameterconcealment, a diagnostic function, an interference resolution function,and/or a service continuity function.

ASA Parameter Aggregation Function

An ASA controller may be coupled to multiple primary users and multiplesecondary users. The latter has been shown in FIG. 4. The ASA controllercan provide information to/from multiple entities. The aggregationfunction also provides routing. That is, the aggregation functionprovides a single addressable interface over which a primary user caninteract with multiple secondary users.

Interference Partitioning Function

The partitioning described above may be performed because a single ASAcontroller can be connected to multiple secondary users. Theinterference partitioning is specified when considering the cumulativeeffect of interference caused by secondary users. Although theinterference partitioning could be performed by the primary user, theASA controller provides the functionality in a conventional system.

ASA Parameter Translation Function

As previously discussed, there may be various parameter formats used viathe ASA-1 and ASA-2 interfaces and these parameters may have to betranslated from one to another. In some cases, protection zoneparameters are translated to exclusion zone parameters. The translationcalculates, based on a priori channel models, transmitter parameters todetermine the boundary area beyond which secondary user equipment issafe to operate without causing harmful interference. Furthermore, thetranslation of protections zones to exclusion zones uses an assumptionof the primary user deployment density because the interference causedwill be cumulative over all interfering transmitters.

Although the ASA parameter translation could be performed by the primaryuser, the translation is typically performed by the ASA controllerbecause the ASA controller can serve as an aggregation point ofsecondary user network information. As an alternative, ASA parametertranslation can also be performed by the secondary user. In this case,the parameter translation may directly map the protection zoneparameters to the network planning by identifying the eNodeBs that mayremain operational.

ASA Parameter Concealment Function

Data on a primary user's protection zone parameters may be privileged.Furthermore, the data's pattern in time may also be privileged.Therefore, the data may not be disclosed to ASA secondary users. In somecases, by conveying exclusion parameters over the ASA-2 interface,parameter concealment may occur. As further protection, the primary useror the ASA controller can further dither the usage data by extending thetime and/or geographical area beyond a minimum specification.

In another configuration, information, such as deployment informationand/or usage data of an ASA secondary user is not disclosed. In somecases, the disclosure to the primary user is accepted but there may becases with multiple secondary users where disclosure to other secondaryusers is not accepted. By performing ASA parameter concealment andtranslation at the ASA controller, the data sharing among secondaryusers can be avoided.

Diagnostic Function

Some ASA functionality, such as parameter translation or interferencepartitioning uses knowledge of deployment data, transmitter parameters,and/or channel models. Still, adaptability is desirable. Furthermore, itmay be desirable to have input assumptions pre-agreed and madeunchangeable by the ASA controller. Even in this case, however, it isdesirable to enable logging of operational parameters and achievedinterference and/or interference protection levels for the purpose ofmonitoring and for enabling possible future enhancements.

The collection of diagnostic parameters can be through the interfacesASA-1 and ASA-2 and can be augmented by interference measurements by theASA controller. The latter may necessitate a network of interferencesensors connected to the ASA controller.

Interference Resolution Function

It is possible that the primary user experiences an unacceptable levelof interference and there is a desire to mitigate the interference. Insome cases, the interference may be mitigated by increasing theexclusion zone and/or directing a secondary user to seize operation.

In the case of multiple secondary users, the licensee that causes theinterference may not be determined. Thus, if a diagnostic function isavailable, it may be possible to turn on/off secondary users one-by-oneand monitor the interference measurements provided by the primary useror the ASA controller to determine a course of action. If the time fordetermining the precise cause of interference does not fit the primaryuser's tolerance window then all secondary users might be directed toseize operation.

In another configuration, the primary user identifies the interferencesource and can correct the interference condition. This may be possiblein some cases when the primary and secondary user both use the sameair-interface, such as LTE.

Service Continuity Function

Due to the potential high sensitivity to error cases, the ASA controllershould provide for reliable operation irrespective of various errorscenarios. This functionality may be improved by specifying redundancyand self-monitoring.

In addition, fallback methods should be provided in cases of ASA-xinterface outage. For example, a keep-alive message exchange can be usedwith a certain periodicity and when the message is not received, the ASAcontroller can default to a worse case interference protection scenario,for example, by directing all ASA secondary users to cease operation.

ASA-2 Interface

Examples for ASA-2 message types and ASA-2 parameters will be describedbelow. It should be noted that some of these parameter structures couldbe reused for ASA-1.

For messaging direction a forward direction refers to messages sent fromthe ASA controller to the ASA network manager. The messages may berelated to but not identical to push messaging. Additionally, a reversedirection refers to messages sent from the ASA network manager to theASA controller. The messages may related to but not identical to pullmessaging.

Interface Procedures and Messages

FIG. 17 illustrates a flow diagram for an ASA-2 setup procedure 1700that may be initiated by the ASA network manager 1704 to setup an ASA-2interface with the ASA controller 1702. The procedure involves theexchange of the identity and capability of the ASA-2 endpoints, using asetup request message sent at time 1706 to the ASA controller 1702 and aresponse message sent at time 1708 to the ASA network manager 1704.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow diagram for an exclusion zone managementprocedure 1800 that may be used to manage the exclusion zones configuredat the ASA network manager 1804. The ASA controller 1802 may configurean exclusion zone at the ASA network manager 1804 at the time of startupor when the exclusion zone is modified. The procedure also permits theASA network manager 1804 to query the ASA controller 1802 at time 1808for updates to the exclusion zone (e.g., near the time of expiry of thecurrent exclusion zone). The ASA controller 1802 responds with exclusionzone setup information at time 1810. The network manager may acknowledgethe exclusion zone setup information at time 1812.

FIG. 19 illustrates a flow diagram for a protection zone managementprocedure 1900 that may be used to manage the protection zonesconfigured at the ASA network manager 1904. The protection zonemanagement procedure 1900 may be applicable if the interferencecalculations needed to satisfy the protection zone are carried out inthe ASA network. In this configuration, the ASA controller 1902configures a protection zone at the ASA network manager 1904 at the timeof startup or when the protection zone is modified. Furthermore, the ASAnetwork manager 1904 may query the ASA controller 1902 at time 1906 forupdates to the protection zone. The query at time 1906 may be performednear the expiration time of the current protection zone. At time 1908,the ASA controller 1902 may provide a protection zone setup responsemessage to the query of time 1906. The protection zone setup responsemessage may be acknowledged by the ASA network manager 1904 at time1910.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flow diagram for an ASA authorization requestprocedure 2000 that may be used by the ASA network manager 2004 torequest operation in specific locations or regions at time 2006. The ASAcontroller 2002 grants or denies the request, at time 2008, based onestimating the interference cause by operation at the specific location.The ASA network manager 2004 may acknowledge receiving the grant at time2010. The ASA controller 2002 may also initiate the ASA authorizationrequest procedure 2000 to inform the ASA network manager 2004 forupdates to the decisions.

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow diagram for an ASA reset procedure 2100 thatmay be used by the ASA controller 2102 to stop the usage of ASAresources by the secondary user by sending a reset message at time 2106to the ASA network manager 2104. The usage of ASA resources may bestopped completely, or at specific locations, time occasions, and/or ASAchannels. The ASA network manager 2104 may respond at time 2108 with anacknowledgement message.

FIG. 22 illustrates a flow diagram for a keep alive procedure 2200 thatmay be used by the ASA controller 2202 to inform the ASA network manager2204 about the connectivity status of the ASA-2 link. If the keep alivemessage transmitted at time 2208 is not received by the ASA networkmanager 2204 for a predetermined amount of time, the ASA network manager2204 declares link failure and takes previously agreed actions, such asstopping the usage of all ASA resources. If the keep alive messagetransmitted at time 2208 is received, the ASA network manager 2204 maysend an acknowledgement message at time 2210.

FIG. 23 illustrates a flow diagram for an ASA network deployment statusquery procedure 2300 that may be used by the ASA controller 2302 torequest deployment parameters at time 2306. The parameters may be nodelocations and/or transmit powers of the ASA network manager 2304associated with the second user. The procedure may be used by the ASAcontroller 2302 to estimate the interference level in the protectionzone and adjust the exclusion zone if needed. The ASA network manager2304 may respond with a report message at time 2308 providing therequested information.

FIG. 24 illustrates a flow diagram for an ASA network operational statusquery procedure 2400 that may be used by the ASA controller 2402 torequest operational parameters at time 2408, such as node loading, ofthe secondary network 2404. The ASA network operational status queryprocedure 2400 may be used by the ASA controller 2402 to improve thespectrum usage. The ASA network manager 2404 may respond with a statusreport message at time 2406 providing the requested information.

An ASA device operation status query is as a procedure that is avariation of the network operation operational status query. The ASAdevice operation status query queries the status of devices in thesecondary network. For example, the device power levels and IDs can bequeried.

The notice of violation procedure can be used by the ASA controller toinform the ASA network manager about occurrence of elevated interferencelevels in the protection zone. The message can be accompanied by anupdate to the exclusion zone.

The primary network operational status query may be initiated by the ASAnetwork manager to query the primary user's activity and power levels tobetter plan the secondary network. The primary user's operational statusquery is optional.

Message Headers

Message information fields as described below may assist in sessionmanagement and error check routing. Routing information is assumed to beincluded in IP headers. FIG. 25 shows a TABLE 2500 of message headers asexamples in forward or reverse directions. For more evolved sessioncontrol and management, various parameter subtypes can be added.Therefore the information fields described in FIG. 25 may be containersof multiple information elements.

Message Types

Various message types that can be used over the ASA-2 interface aredescribed below. The messages used in the forward direction are given inthe TABLE 2600 shown in FIG. 26 and the messages used in the reversedirection are given in the TABLE 2700 shown in FIG. 27.

For the purposes of message description, the parameter translation isperformed by the ASA controller or the incumbent network controller.Therefore only exclusion zone parameters may be conveyed over the ASA-2interface. For more evolved ASA control, various other messages can beadded. Thus, the message types described in the TABLEs 2600 and 2700 areonly examples.

Message Contents

Examples parameter content definitions for the various messagespreviously discussed are provided in the TABLE 8. Parameters may bearranged in parameter records, which may be used in multiple messagetypes.

TABLE 8 Record type Contents/Description Geographical A geographicalarea is described as a union of one or more area of the following recordIndex pointing to a predefined area descriptor A geometrical shapedescribed by Type (e.g., rectangle, circle, ellipse) Shape descriptor(e.g., center coordinates, size, orientation) Polygon described by Listof coordinates Time record Time interval described as a union of one ormore of the following Index pointing to a predefined time period Valuereserved to indicate reference time (e.g., immediate action time) Starttime/date (e.g., unspecified duration or valid until revoked) Explicitduration, defined as Length of time interval, or End time Repetitionperiod Time lapse between start of repeated applicability periods Numberof repetitions Other time description E.g., calendar based Network Listof transmitters described by operation Geographical coordinates recordLat/Long Horizontal accuracy Height Vertical accuracy eNodeB ID Deviceclass (e.g., macro, pico, femto) Device subclass (e.g., indoor/outdoor,or other subclass) Transmitter For each transmitter, include operationalparameters, such as parameter Conducted max output power record Antennaelevation (HAAT) Antenna orientation/tilt Antenna gain pattern Indexinto a set of predefined patterns MIMO capability Number of antennasAntenna array configuration (ULA, X-pol) Average activity Number of RBsused Number of subframes used Current activity Number of RBs used Numberof subframes used UE For each transmitter, include operationalparameters, such as parameter Conducted max output power record Antennaelevation (HAAT) Antenna orientation/tilt Antenna gain pattern Indexinto a set of predefined patterns Average activity Number of RBs usedNumber of subframes used Current activity Number of RBs used Number ofsubframes used

Some information elements (IEs), in particular those related to UEparameters, may not be used.

ASA-3 Interface

The messaging used over ASA-3 may reuse the definitions of theoperations, administration and management (OAM) server and may be keptproprietary, as is the existing OAM. If the ASA network manager residesin the OAM server, the ASA-3 interface may not be separable from theregular OAM operation. This can be concluded with considering that thesecondary user's eNodeBs already receive operational parameters from theOAM server as part of regular operation and that the eNodeB does notnecessarily know the specific reason for a parameter assignment orparameter change. An additional feature that may not be available inexisting OAM is the connection supervision, which may require a‘keep-alive’ message as described elsewhere herein.

Simplified ASA Design

ASA-1 Interface

This section describes the messages that are sent over the ASA-1interface in the simplified design. The content of each message isprovided. For the simplified design, exclusion zones may be the onlyinformation conveyed over the ASA interfaces. Further description ofexclusion zones is provided herein.

In the simplified design configuration, the protection zone to exclusionzone conversion is performed by the incumbent network controller andonly exclusion zone parameters may be exchanged over the ASA interfaces.The incumbent network operator uses worst case assumptions regarding theASA secondary users' deployment and/or uses information for thedeployments that was conveyed outside of the ASA protocols.

Exclusion Zones (Simplified Design)

For the simplified design, the description of the exclusion zones may bethe same as previously described for the general case. The descriptionof excluded devices, (i.e., device classes) may be the same aspreviously described for the general case (TABLE 3). As a furthersimplification, it is assumed, for the simplified design, that devicesubclasses are not defined.

Exclusion Zones for UEs (Simplified Design)

Exclusion zones for UEs may be handled via defining and/or extendingexclusion zones for serving eNodeBs. It may be desirable to extend theDL exclusion zone by a margin accounting for the specified interferenceprotection from the UL frequency as previously described for the generalcase.

Exclusion Zones for TDD (Simplified Design)

For TDD, it can be assumed that the interference tolerated by theprimary user is the same for the UL as for the DL. In general, extendingthe DL exclusion zone by a factor of two should suffice in theconventional system as previously discussed for the general case.

Protection Zones (Simplified Design)

Protection zones are not used in the simplified design.

ASA Controller Functions (Simplified Design)

The ASA controller should provide the following services, ASA parameteraggregation, ASA parameter partition, ASA parameter translation, ASAparameter concealment, and/or a service continuity function

ASA Parameter Aggregation Function (Simplified Design)

A single ASA controller can be connected to multiple primary users andmultiple secondary users. The latter has been shown in FIG. 4. The ASAcontroller can provide information to/from multiple entities. Theaggregation function also provides routing in the sense that it providesa single addressable interface over which a primary user can interactwith multiple secondary users.

Interference Partitioning Function (Simplified Design)

Interference partitioning may be specified because a single ASAcontroller may be connected to multiple secondary users. In contrast tothe improved design, it is assumed that the partitioning performed bythe ASA controller is not targeting the resolution of cumulative effectof interference caused by multiple secondary users. Rather, thepartitioning may be only targeting the selection of relevant subset ofexclusion zone parameters to be sent to each secondary user based ontheir deployment in geographical area and frequency.

ASA Parameter Translation Function (Simplified Design)

As previously discussed, various parameters formats may be used over theASA-1 and ASA-2 interfaces and these parameters may have to betranslated from one to the other. It should be noted that in contrast tothe improved design, it is not assumed that the ASA controller performsany protection zone to exclusion zone parameter translation.

ASA Parameter Concealment Function (Simplified Design)

Data on a primary user's protection zone parameters and the data'spattern in time may be privileged and as such cannot be disclosed to ASAsecondary users.

By parameter partitioning (i.e., by conveying a subset of the exclusionparameters over the ASA-2 interface to each of the secondary users)certain level of parameter concealment naturally occurs. As furtherprotection, the primary user or the ASA controller can further ditherthe usage data by extending the time and/or geographical area beyondwhat would be minimally required.

Because there is no information exchanged for the network deployment ofsecondary users in the simplified design, ASA controller functionalityis not specified to protect the secondary user's operational parametersform other secondary users or from the primary user.

Service Continuity Function (Simplified Design)

Due to the potential sensitivity to error, the ASA controller mayprovide reliable operation irrespective of various error scenarios. Thisfunctionality may be improved with adopting redundancy andself-monitoring.

In addition, fallback methods may be provided in cases of ASA-xinterface outage. For example, a keep-alive message exchange can be usedwith a certain periodicity and when the message is not received. The ASAcontroller can default to a worse case interference protection scenario,for example, by directing all ASA secondary users to seize operation.

ASA-2 Interface (Simplified Design)

Examples for ASA-2 message types and ASA-2 parameters are providedbelow. It should be noted, that some of these parameter structures couldbe reused for ASA-1.

Messages Headers (Simplified Design)

The information fields used for session management and routing may bethe same as previously described above for the general case.

Messages Types (Simplified Design)

In this section, various message types that can be used over the ASA-2interface are described. For messaging direction forward directionrefers to messages sent from the ASA controller to the ASA networkmanager. The messages are related to but not identical to pushmessaging. The reverse direction refers to messages sent from the ASAnetwork manager to the ASA controller. The messages are related to butnot identical to pull messaging.

The messages used in the forward direction are given in TABLE 2800 ofFIG. 28 and the messages used in the reverse direction are given inTABLE 2900 of FIG. 29. As previously discussed, it may be assumed thatonly exclusion zone parameters are conveyed over the ASA-2 interface.

Message Contents (Simplified Design)

Provided below are example parameter content definitions for the variousmessages previously discussed. The various parameters are listed in theTABLE 9. It should be noted that parameters are arranged in parameterrecords, which can be used in multiple message types.

TABLE 9 Record type contents/Description Geographical area Ageographical area is described as a union of one or record more of thefollowing Index pointing to a predefined area descriptor A geometricalshape described by Type (e.g., rectangle, circle, ellipse) Shapedescriptor (e.g., center coordinates, size, orientation) Polygondescribed by List of coordinates Time record Time interval described asa union of one or more of the following Index pointing to a predefinedtime period Value reserved to indicate reference time (e.g., immediateaction time) Start time/date (e.g., unspecified duration or valid untilrevoked) Explicit duration, defined as Length of time interval, or Endtime Repetition period Time lapse between start of repeatedapplicability periods Number of repetitions Other time description E.g.,calendar based

In one configuration, it may suffice to use only a subset of theinformation elements given in TABLE 9.

ASA-3 Interface (Simplified Design)

The messaging used over ASA-3 may reuse the definitions of OAM and maybe kept proprietary as is the existing OAM. If the ASA network managerresides in the OAM server, the ASA-3 interface may not be separable fromthe regular OAM operation. This can be concluded with considering thatthe secondary user's eNodeBs already receive operational parameters fromthe OAM server as part of regular operation and that the eNodeB does notnecessarily know the specific reason for a parameter assignment orparameter change. An additional feature, not necessarily available inexisting OAM, is the connection supervision, which may require akeep-alive message as described herein.

Procedures for Vacating ASA Spectrum

Overall Message Flow

The procedure for vacating the ASA spectrum is initiated by the primaryuser and propagates over ASA-1 and ASA-2 protocols to reach thesecondary network. FIG. 30 illustrates a message flow 3000 for vacatingan ASA spectrum. Initially, a primary user 3002 requests an ASA reset attime 3010, which may include a list of areas affected by the reset. Incase of multiple secondary networks, the ASA controller 3004 informs theaffected networks. Further, if a particular area of a secondary networkneeds to be vacated, then the ASA controller computes the area thatneeds to be vacated at time 3012. The ASA controller then sends amessage at time 3014 to each ASA network manager 3006 informing theareas in which the spectrum is to be vacated.

The ASA network manager 3006 determines, at time 3016, the set ofeNodeBs 3008 that have to vacate ASA spectrum and sends messages, attime 3018, to the set of eNodeBs 3008 over the ASA-3 protocol. EacheNodeB 3008 stops its use of the ASA spectrum, at time 3020, and shiftstraffic to other available spectrum.

In some cases a sudden stoppage of numerous eNodeBs presents scalabilityconcerns on the ASA-3 protocol. If this scalability is an issue, themessage to shut down the eNodeB may be delivered via mobility managemententity (MME). The S1 interface is designed to simultaneously sendmessages to eNodeBs, for example, during emergency broadcast ofearthquake warnings.

Actions at Secondary Network

When the secondary user receives a notice, either immediate or inadvance, to vacate a particular ASA channel, the DL bandwidth maychange, the UL bandwidth may change, both DL and UL bandwidth maychange, the DL frequency may change, the UL frequency may change, bothDL and UL frequency may change, and/or the ASA operation terminates.

As discussed above, the ASA operation may terminate. However, some ofthe procedures discussed can also be applied to the other cases. As partof vacating the spectrum, the UEs are handed over to another frequency,which can be a channel licensed to the operator in another band. Thehandover may be specified if the reason for leaving ASA is the ULinterference or because of the need to maintain call continuity whilethere is a loss of ASA DL.

In some cases, the idle mode operation may only be supported in thelicensed frequency, due to, for example, a scenario where multiplesecondary users share the same ASA channel. In this case, the eNodeBsends a mobility control message indicating handover to every connectedUE in the ASA frequency. Since there is no radio resource management(RRM) measurement involved, the incurred delay is only the radioresource control (RRC) procedure delay. This delay may have to beextended by a multiple of the discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle usedfor DRX UEs, also accounting for some downlink control channel decodingerrors. It should be noted that some DRX UEs may be left behind. Thatis, the eNodeB may power down before being able to notify these UEs.Because these UE would not be able to transmit after detecting the DLCRS loss, the impact may be only some service interruption but notunexpected interference to the primary user.

When idle mode is supported in ASA, in addition to handing over allconnected mode UEs, the idle mode UEs are also redirected to a licensedfrequency. The redirection may be performed by paging UEs with a systeminformation change notification. The delay incurred will depend on thepaging cycle used, the system information change notification period,and/or the rate of missed pages. Still, some UEs that are left behindwould not cause undue interference, therefore the delay in compliancewith the vacate request may not be specified for a worst case scenario.

For a DL frequency change within the ASA channel, assuming that both theeNodeB and served UEs are changing frequency, there may be a conflict ifthe eNodeB cannot simultaneously operate on both the source and targetfrequencies. However, such configuration changes should already behandled by the existing Rel-8 system information change procedures.Alternatively, the conflict could be resolved with a two step handoversuch as a handover from an ASA channel A to a licensed channel to an ASAchannel B.

Messaging Protocols Used Over ASA-1

The ASA-1 protocol may not be specified, since it may be a proprietaryimplementation based on the specific requirements of a given primaryuser. In some cases, the ASA-1 protocol may use a secure channeldesigned with possible redundancies to improve reliability. In addition,keep alive message exchange can be defined to enable detecting loss ofconnection. Upon loss of connection, the ASA controller can take actionaccording to the description provided elsewhere herein.

Messaging Protocols Used Over ASA-2

The protocols over the ASA-2 interface may be standardized to allowmulti-vendor solutions with the ability to swap out one vendor's nodewith a different node. The protocol may run over a secure connection, asdescribed in connection with security below.

Messaging Protocols Used Over ASA-3

As previously discussed, the protocol used of ASA-3 is expected to reusethe definitions of OAM. If the ASA network manager resides in the OAMserver, the ASA-3 interface is not separable form the regular OAMoperation; therefore, there may not be a need to define a new ASA-3protocol.

Additionally, a keep-alive message exchange may be used with a certainperiodicity between the OAM server and the eNodeB. Furthermore, when themessage is not received by the eNodeB, an ASA-3 connection loss isdeclared resulting in the eNodeB redirecting all served UEs to adifferent frequency and powering off in the ASA channel.

Security Specifications

The security specified for the ASA-1 interface is described below. Forauthentication, the primary user should be able to verify that it isconnecting to the correct ASA Controller. Furthermore, the ASAController should be able to verify that it is connecting to the correctPrimary user

For message protection, the messages on ASA-1 interface should beciphered, (i.e., may be decipherable by only the end-points of the ASA-1interface). Additionally, the messages on ASA-2 interface should betamper-resistant (i.e., any tampering should be detectable by the ASA-1interface endpoints). Actions upon detection of tampering are notspecified.

Protection against denial of service is desirable and can be promoted byusing unpublished addresses. Moreover, the security functions are notspecified to guarantee that operational parameters for a certain regionmay be only accessed by the operator authorized for that region. Thisfunction is assumed to be handled by ASA controller messaging logic.

The requirements on the ASA-2 interface are same as that on ASA-1interface.

Certificate Based Security Overview

Certificate based security can provide end-to-end authentication andmessage protection between two peer nodes using public and private keys.Each node has a private key that may be known only to itself and apublic key that is known globally. Further, a certificate authority canverify to node A that a certain public key indeed belongs to node B.

Once the above key infrastructure is specified, protocols such as TLScan be used to authenticate the peer nodes to each other also providemessage protection. TLS uses the public/private keys to negotiatesession keys that are then used for encryption/authentication ofindividual messages. This is desirable because the use of public/privatekeys for individual messages is computationally complex.

Support for TLS is used in various devices, from smartphones tomainframes. Further, TLS is considered a secure protocol as evidenced byits industrial use, such as use in banking transactions.

Certificate based security use a certificate authority. In some cases,public keys are installed at the peer nodes and the keys are storedwithin a tamperproof region of device memory. Alternatively,standardized protocols (e.g., X.509) to electronically install andupdate certificates may also be used. The standardized protocols use ahierarchy of trust where a trusted server can update certificates forother nodes.

Security for ASA Protocols

Certificate based security with TLS is an option for ASA-1 and ASA-2protocols. Given the reduced number of nodes participating in messageexchange, manual installation of certificates is feasible. The primaryusers' certificate may need to be installed only at the ASA controllerand not in the operator network. Security may be improved byperiodically changing the certificates, with each update beingaccompanied by a manual certificate installation.

Verification of Authorized Shared Access Operation

A primary user, such as a system of a national defense organization, maygrant network resources to a secondary user, such as a mobile networkoperator (MNO). It should be noted that granting network resourcesrefers to the network providing notice to the secondary user that suchnetwork resources are available. The network resources may be unusedportions of a spectrum and/or frequency band. The granting of thenetwork resources to the mobile network operator may be temporary, suchthat the licensed network resources may eventually revert to the primaryuser. The granted network resources may revert based on a request by theprimary user or after a predetermined time.

The mobile network operator may have access to an unused portion of thespectrum based on the mobile network operator's location and/or time ofuse. For example, the network resources may only be available to themobile network operator at a specific period of the day or when themobile network operator is operating within a specific area. The timeand location features may vary according to a network resource licensearrangement. The license arrangement may allow for portions of thespectrum to be shared between the primary user and the mobile networkoperator.

To facilitate sharing of the network resources, spectrum licensing, suchas authorized shared access, may be specified for the network. For ashared access system, it is desirable to predict the interference levelsthat may be experienced by a primary user when a mobile network operatoris using a same band as the primary user in a coverage area that isadjacent to the coverage area of the incumbent user or within the samecoverage area as the primary user. In one configuration, information ofthe primary user's operation on the shared spectrum is provided to anauthorized shared access controller. The information may includetime-varying specifications of the primary user. An authorized sharedaccess system may specify configurations for operation of the primaryuser and the mobile network operator based on the information providedby the primary user. The configurations may be specified to mitigateinterference.

The authorized shared access controller may use the information providedby the primary user to determine resource grants, such as frequency bandgrants, for the mobile network operator. Further, the authorized sharedaccess controller may specify whether a base station/eNodeB of themobile network operator may communicate in a particular frequency bandof the shared spectrum. The authorized shared access controller may alsospecify a power level (e.g., maximum power level) that the mobilenetwork may transmit in the particular frequency band.

Conventional authorized shared access systems may be inadequate forpredicting interference levels caused by the wireless device to theprimary user. That is, a conventional authorized shared access systemmay incorrectly predict interference levels experienced by the primaryuser when the wireless device is in an area that is adjacent to theprimary user and communicating in a same frequency band as the primaryuser. Furthermore, conventional authorized shared access system mayincorrectly predict interference levels experienced by the primary userwhen the wireless device is in a same area as the primary user andcommunicating on a frequency band that is adjacent to the primary user.The predictions of the interference levels may be implemented at theauthorized shared access controller.

Conventional authorized shared access systems validate configurations ofthe authorized shared access system by implementing a performancemonitoring system in the network of the primary user that provides atrigger to the authorized shared access controller to facilitatevalidation of the interference levels. That is, in the conventionalsystem, the primary user may be used as a sensor to sense and reportactual interference levels to the authorized shared access controller.However, the conventional validation system may not be desirable due toa lack of an organized management system. Therefore, it is desirable toimprove the validation of the interference levels experienced at theprimary user.

In some cases, the interference level predictions are achieved by aspectrum analysis implementation, coverage prediction implementation,and/or other implementations for predicting interference. In someprediction implementations, such as the coverage predictionimplementation, the prediction may be compromised due to lack of anadequate propagation prediction tool. Furthermore, configuration changesby mobile networks may be unavailable to the authorized shared accesscontroller or may not be up-to-date. The configuration changes at thewireless device may include changes to receiver/antenna orientation(e.g., horizontal and tilt) that change the propagation of a signal,changes to radiation pattern (e.g., tilt, vertical or horizontal beamwidth) and changes to other interference related parameters discussedabove. In some cases, the accuracy of the prediction at the authorizedshared access controller may be compromised because the authorizedshared access controller is unaware of the current configurations of thewireless device.

The interference level predictions may be improved if the interferencelevel is predicted by the mobile network operator. In this case, theauthorized shared access controller informs the mobile network operatorof the areas and frequencies to be protected in addition to interferencethresholds to be observed. Still, in this case, the mobile networkoperator does not perform interference predictions. Nonetheless, theaccuracy of the operator predictions may be dependent on the accuracy ofpropagation models. The propagation models may not be reliable becausedrive tests and manual changes may be specified in the optimization ofreal networks. In another configuration, the operations, administrationand management center provides the authorized shared access controllerwith the results of the interference predictions.

The prediction accuracy may also be compromised by a wireless devicethat adapts its parameters to improve a set of criteria and orperformance, such as quality of service or handover success rate.Although the wireless device has access to the changed parameters,providing the changes to a third party controller, such as theauthorized shared access controller may reduce performance of theauthorized shared access system. In addition, the authorized sharedaccess controller may re-compute the predictions on a continuing basis,which may be computationally difficult and/or increase the overallsystem load.

In one configuration, based on an implementation at the primary userand/or based on a prediction implementation at the authorized sharedaccess system or the mobile network operator's management system, theconfigurations of the authorized shared access system are validatedbefore the primary user operates in the frequency band. Still, it may bedesirable to improve the validation of configurations implemented by theauthorized shared access system. For example, it is desirable tovalidate whether the level of interference experienced by the primaryuser is within a threshold across an area of operation of the primaryuser. The level of interference is the level of interference that willbe experienced by the primary user when the spectrum is shared or thelevel of interference that is currently experienced by the primary user.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, configurations used bythe authorized shared access system are validated (i.e., verified) basedon measurements made from the use of the network by a wireless device ofthe mobile network operator. That is, a wireless device, such as a basestation and/or UE associated with the mobile network operator maycollect data, such as communication parameters, so that the authorizedshared access system may validate the specified configurations. Thewireless device may be operating within or near an exclusion zoneassociated with the primary user. Additionally, the wireless device isoperating in the frequency band that is different from the frequencyband of the shared spectrum. Still, the wireless device may havepreviously been operating in the frequency band of the shared spectrum.It should be noted that the wireless device refers to a wireless deviceof a mobile network operator that has been granted a license to sharethe spectrum/frequency with a primary user.

In one configuration, the wireless device may perform measurements, suchas interference measurements, and the measurements are transmitted tothe authorized shared access controller. The authorized shared accesscontroller may use the measurements to validate the interference levelsexperienced by the primary user. Additionally, the authorized sharedaccess controller informs the primary user of the validation. Theprimary user may initiate operation in the frequency of the sharedspectrum after validation.

In one configuration, the authorized shared access controller adjusts anexclusion zone and/or a maximum power specified for mobile networkcommunication based on the results of the validation. For example, theauthorized shared access controller may increase the exclusion zone ofthe primary user or reduce the maximum power allowed for the mobilenetwork communication if the results of the validation indicate that theinterference experienced by the primary user is above a threshold. Asanother example, the authorized shared access controller may decreasethe exclusion zone of the primary user or increase the maximum powerallowed for the wireless device communication if the results of thevalidation indicate that the interference experienced by the primaryuser is below a threshold. It should be noted that in one configuration,the interference is validated after an initial correspondence with thewireless device and prior to the operation of the incumbent user.

In this configuration, the authorized shared access system operates as acontrol loop to adjust the exclusion zone and/or the maximum power basedon the validated interference levels. In another configuration, theauthorized shared access controller determines whether a base stationcan operate in the frequency band of the shared spectrum based on thelocation of the base station.

In another configuration, the mobile network operator's operations,administration and management (OAM) center adjusts the networkdeployment based on the results of validation. For example, theoperations, administration and management center may direct particularbase stations to stop transmitting in certain frequencies and/or reducetheir maximum power if the results of the validation indicate that theinterference experienced by the primary user is above a threshold. Asanother example, the operations, administration and management centermay direct particular base stations to start transmitting in certainfrequencies and/or increase their maximum power if the results of thevalidation indicate that the interference experienced by the primaryuser is below a threshold. It should be noted that in one configuration,the interference is validated after an initial correspondence with thewireless device and prior to the operation of the incumbent user. Inanother configuration, the operations, administration and managementcenter provides the authorized shared access controller with the resultsof its interference predictions and measurements received after networkadjustments.

As an example, a wireless device operating at a carrier frequency (F0),such as an LTE carrier frequency, or any other frequency withoutrestriction, receives an indication to vacate the carrier frequencywithin a given area. Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless devicemay receive an indication that the primary user will use or is expectedto use the frequency band of the shared spectrum in the exclusion zone.The notice may be initiated by the primary user and may be sent to anetwork controller of the wireless device via the authorized sharedaccess controller. Upon receipt of the notice, the wireless device maycomply with the notice to vacate operations on the carrier frequency.

In addition to the reception of the notice to vacate the carrierfrequency, the wireless device may be requested to report measurementsof communication parameters. The request for these measurements may beinitiated by the authorized shared access controller. In oneconfiguration, the request for measurement reports is transmitted inresponse to receiving the notice indicating that the primary user willuse or is expected to use the frequency band in the exclusion zone. Aspreviously discussed, the measurements may be performed at the wirelessdevice and reported to the authorized shared access controller.

In another configuration the measurements reports are transmitted to thewireless devices that have been identified for power reduction orpowering off. That is, the measurement reports may be transmitted to awireless device that is causing interference prior to transmitting themeasurement report to the network controller and/or the operations,administration and management domain. In this configuration, the devicessending the measurement reports are registered with a mobile networkthat is the same as the mobile network that adjusts the configurationfor the wireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum. Alternatively,the devices sending the measurement reports may be registered with amobile network that is different from the mobile network that adjuststhe configuration for the wireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum

The measurements may include received levels of power, such as receivedtotal wideband power (RTWP), in the carrier frequency for wirelessdevices, such as eNodeBs and/or UEs that operate in the given area.Additionally, in one configuration, the measurements also includemeasurements from wireless devices that operate on a frequency that isdifferent from the carrier frequency. The measurements may also includeinter-frequency measurements of the carrier frequency by one or morewireless devices. The request to report measurements may be sent by theauthorized shared access controller to a network controller of thewireless device. In one configuration, the request to reportmeasurements is sent to the base stations via the network controller.Additionally, or alternatively, the request for measurements may be sentto the UEs associated with one or more base stations of the mobilenetwork operator.

Measurement report(s) representing measurements at the wireless devicemay be collected and/or processed at the authorized shared accesscontroller. In one configuration, each measurement report indicatescharacteristics of a wireless device. Furthermore, the measurementreports for a base station may include geographical area/location of thebase station, height of the base station, antenna gain, cell bearing,and/or other parameters of the base station. Additionally, themeasurement reports for a UE may include an estimated indication of thelocation of the UE.

The estimated location of the UE may be based on measurement of thelocation of the base station, cell bearing, and/or estimated radius of acell of the base station. In one configuration, the measurement reportsidentify one or more dominant base stations based on an analysis and/orcorrelation with known pilots, reference symbols, and/or other metrics.The measurement reports may also be used to identify specific basestations to be turned off or to identify a base station with a powerlevel that is greater than a threshold.

The measurement reports may be used to validate that the base stationsin a specific area operate on a frequency that is different from thecarrier frequency in compliance with the notice to vacate operations onthe carrier frequency. By receiving data, such as the measurementreports, which indicate the improved interference levels, the authorizedshared access controller can compile data for the improved interferencelevels without prior knowledge of the wireless device or withoutreliance on prediction implementations. Still, the results of theprediction implementations may be used to determine initial values ofthe data.

In one configuration, the authorized shared access controller notifiesthe primary user that it can operate in the carrier frequency based onthe received measurement reports from the mobile network. The authorizedshared access controller may determine whether the protection and/orexclusion zone of the incumbent network are greater than or less than athreshold based on the received report. That is, the protection may beless than a threshold and deemed insufficient. Moreover, the protectionmay be greater than a threshold and deemed excessive.

For example, as previously discussed, the authorized shared accesscontroller may increase or cause the protection and/or exclusion zone tobe increased and/or reduce the maximum power allowed for mobile networkcommunication when the protection and/or exclusion zone is insufficient.The maximum power may refer to the power levels, such as transmit powerlevels, at the base stations. As another example, the authorized sharedaccess controller may reduce the protection and/or exclusion zone and/orincrease the maximum power allowed for wireless device when theauthorized shared access controller determines that the protectionand/or exclusion zone is excessive. The protection and/or exclusion zonemay be increased or decreased based on a stepwise implementation.

In another example, the operations, administration and management centermay directly command certain base stations to stop transmitting inspecific frequencies or to transmit at a lower power. As anotherexample, the operations, administration and management center maycommand certain base stations to start transmitting in specificfrequencies or to transmit at higher power. The operations,administration and management center may communicate its actions to theauthorized shared access controller. In another example, the operations,administration and management center may communicate the resultingcalculated or measured interference to the authorized shared accesscontroller.

In one configuration, the authorized shared access controller adjuststhe exclusion zone or the maximum power level based on configurationadjustment information that is independent of the measurement reports.The configuration adjustment information may be received by theauthorized shared access controller and may be independent such thatfeatures of the configuration adjustment information do not map tofeatures of the received measurement reports. For example, theconfiguration adjustment information includes received power by anomnidirectional antenna at a specific height indicating that the heightshould be below a predetermined height.

In another configuration, the measurement reports are mapped to theconfiguration adjustment information. The mapping may be specified byprocessing the measurement reports to map to the requirements of theconfiguration adjustment information. Furthermore, the measurementsreports may be filtered in addition to the processing when it isdetermined that the measurement reports cannot be mapped to theconfiguration adjustment information.

In one configuration, the authorized shared access controller validatesthe configurations based on an activity, such as a training activity,that is independent of the reception of the notice indicating that thecarrier frequency should not be used by the mobile network. The trainingactivity may be implemented offline such that the training activity maybe independent of the notice to vacate. Alternatively, the trainingactivity may be implemented online, such that the training activity maybe in conjunction with the reception of the notice to vacate.

For example, the training activity may be implemented offline if it isknown that certain operation areas are often requested by the primaryuser, and/or when it is known that changes to the parameters of thenetwork is slow due to the self-organized network actions or otherwise.Accordingly, the operation of the primary user in the carrier frequencyis initiated after receiving a validation from the authorized sharedaccess controller that the interference levels experienced by theprimary user are equal to or below a threshold.

In another example, the primary user notifies the authorized sharedaccess controller of particular operational configurations that may berequested in the future and the authorized shared access controllerinitiates separate training activities for each configuration. Theconfigurations may be indexed and the authorized shared accesscontroller may associate the index with the specific actions that havebeen shown to provide the specified level of interference followingtraining and validation.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a method 3100 for verifyingauthorized shared access operation according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. An authorized shared access system, such as an authorizedshared access controller, may receive measurement reports from wirelessdevices operating in a specific area, as shown in block 3102. In oneconfiguration, the wireless devices may operate on a spectrum that isdifferent from an authorized shared access spectrum. The authorizedshared access system may adjust a configuration for one or more secondwireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum based on the receivedmeasurement reports and/or configuration adjustment information, asshown in block 3104.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 3200 employing an authorized sharedaccess processing system 3214 according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure. The authorized shared access processing system 3214 may beimplemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus3224. The bus 3224 may include any number of interconnecting buses andbridges depending on the specific application of the authorized sharedaccess processing system 3214 and the overall design constraints. Thebus 3224 links together various circuits including one or moreprocessors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor 3222the modules 3202, 3204, and the computer-readable medium 3226. The bus3224 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources,peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, whichare well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described anyfurther.

The apparatus includes an authorized shared access processing system3214 coupled to a transceiver 3230. The transceiver 3230 is coupled toone or more antennas 3220. The transceiver 3230 enables communicatingwith various other apparatus over a transmission medium. The ASAprocessing system 3214 includes a processor 3222 coupled to acomputer-readable medium 3226. The processor 3222 is responsible forgeneral processing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable medium 3226. The software, when executed by theprocessor 3222, causes the authorized shared access processing system3214 to perform the various functions described for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium 3226 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 3222 when executingsoftware.

The authorized shared access processing system 3214 includes a receivingmodule 3202 for receiving measurement reports from wireless devicesoperating in a specific area. As previously discussed, the wirelessdevices operate on a spectrum that is different from an authorizedshared access spectrum. The authorized shared access processing system3214 includes an adjusting module 3204 for adjusting a configuration forone or more second wireless devices operating on the ASA spectrum basedon the receive measurement reports and/or configuration adjustmentinformation. The modules may be software modules running in theprocessor 3222, resident/stored in the computer-readable medium 3226,one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 3222, or somecombination thereof.

In one configuration, an apparatus such as an authorized shared accesssystem is configured for wireless communication including means forreceiving. In one aspect, the above means may be the authorized sharedaccess controller 302/402/502/804/1702-2402, authorized shared accessnetwork manager 1704-2404, the receiving module 3202, transceiver 3230,antenna 3220, and/or the authorized shared access processing system 3214configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module or anyapparatus configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means.

In one configuration, an apparatus such as an authorized shared accesssystem is configured for wireless communication including means foradjusting. In one aspect, the above means may be the authorized sharedaccess controller 302/402/502/804/1702-2402, authorized shared accessnetwork manager 1704-2404, the adjusting module 3204 and/or theauthorized shared access processing system 3214 configured to performthe functions recited by the aforementioned means. In another aspect,the aforementioned means may be a module or any apparatus configured toperform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps or stagesin the processes and methods disclosed are examples of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearrangedwhile remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the describedfunctionality in varying ways for each particular application, but suchimplementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration). In some implementations, processors may be processors,such as communication processors, specifically designed for implementingfunctionality in communication devices or other mobile or portabledevices.

The steps or stages of a method, process or algorithm described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, orin a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storagemedium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can readinformation from, and write information to, the storage medium. In thealternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. Theprocessor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC mayreside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and thestorage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. As described herein, the use of the term “and/or” is intended torepresent an “inclusive OR”, and the use of the term “or” is intended torepresent an “exclusive OR”. All structural and functional equivalentsto the elements of the various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosedherein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whethersuch disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element isto be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixthparagraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recitedusing the phrase “step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, at a user equipment (UE) operating on an authorized shared access (ASA) spectrum, an inter-frequency measurement report from a wireless device operating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that is different from the ASA spectrum; receiving, at the UE from a network controller, a transmission adjustment request based at least in part on the measurement report; and adjusting, at the UE, a transmission based on at least one of the transmission adjustment request, the measurement report, or a combination thereof.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether transmissions of the UE will interfere with transmissions of a primary UE operating on the ASA spectrum based at least in part on the measurement report.
 3. The method of claim 1, in which adjusting the transmission comprises adjusting at least one of a transmission power, a transmission frequency, or a combination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 3, in which adjusting the transmission power comprises reducing the transmission power, increasing the transmission power, or halting transmissions.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting the transmission prior to a primary UE using the ASA spectrum.
 6. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving, at a user equipment (UE) operating on an authorized shared access (ASA) spectrum, an inter-frequency measurement report from a wireless device operating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that is different from the ASA spectrum; means for receiving, at the UE from a network controller, a transmission adjustment request based at least in part on the measurement report; and means for adjusting, at the UE, a transmission based on at least one of the transmission adjustment request, the measurement report, or a combination thereof.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising means for determining whether transmissions of the UE will interfere with transmissions of a primary UE operating on the ASA spectrum based at least in part on the measurement report.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the means for adjusting the transmission comprises means for adjusting at least one of a transmission power, a transmission frequency, or a combination thereof.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the means for adjusting the transmission power comprises means for reducing the transmission power, means for increasing the transmission power, or means for halting transmissions.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the means for adjusting the transmission adjusts the transmission prior to a primary UE using the ASA spectrum.
 11. A user equipment (UE) operating on an authorized shared access (ASA) spectrum and configured for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured: to receive an inter-frequency measurement report from a wireless device operating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that is different from the ASA spectrum; to receive, from a network controller, a transmission adjustment request based at least in part on the measurement report; and to adjust a transmission based on at least one of the transmission adjustment request, the measurement report, or a combination thereof.
 12. The UE of claim 11, in which the at least one processor is further configured to determine whether transmissions of the UE will interfere with transmissions of a primary UE operating on the ASA spectrum based at least in part on the measurement report.
 13. The UE of claim 11, in which the at least one processor is further configured to adjust the transmission by adjusting at least one of a transmission power, a transmission frequency, or a combination thereof.
 14. The UE of claim 13, in which the at least one processor is further configured to adjust the transmission power by reducing the transmission power, increasing the transmission power, or halting transmissions.
 15. The UE of claim 11, in which the at least one processor is further configured to adjust the transmission prior to a primary UE using the ASA spectrum.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory program code recorded thereon for wireless communication, the program code comprising: program code to receive, at a user equipment (UE) operating on an authorized shared access (ASA) spectrum, an inter-frequency measurement report from a wireless device operating in a specific area and operating on a spectrum that is different from the ASA spectrum; program code to receive, at the UE from a network controller, a transmission adjustment request based at least in part on the measurement report; and program code to adjust, at the UE, a transmission based on at least one of the transmission adjustment request, the measurement report, or a combination thereof.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, in which the program code further comprises program code to determine whether transmissions of the UE will interfere with transmissions of a primary UE operating on the ASA spectrum based at least in part on the measurement report.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, in which the program code further comprises program code to adjust the transmission by adjusting at least one of a transmission power, a transmission frequency, or a combination thereof.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, in which the program code further comprises program code to adjust the transmission power by reducing the transmission power, increasing the transmission power, or halting transmissions.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, in which the program code further comprises program code to adjust the transmission prior to a primary UE using the ASA spectrum. 